Home -> Europe -> Denmark - Sweden - Finland - Norway -> Travelogue 2002 -> Saturday 22 June

Oulu - Tornio (with a detour to Luleå, Sweden)

Breakfast is included and we fully enjoy of this unexpected luxury. Quite early we hit the road and because we only have a short distance to cover we ave mapped out some nice detours.

Instead of taking the castal road along the Botnic Stream we take the 849 throught the interior of Finland. And except woods, wood and more woods we also meet the first reindeer on the road.

We see them from afar and this time we brake in time, but these animals are much tamer than the elk we saw in Sweden. They just leave the road and stay near the edge of the wood so we can make some nice close ups.

Sooner than we had expected we arrive at Tornio, the place where we will stay tonight and we decide to make a trip to Sweden. At least we can say now we have also been to the north of Sweden and not only the soutern parts. Teije has always wanted to visit Luleå, the most northerly city of Sweden along the Botnic Gulf, just because he remembers having to point it out on a map when he was ten in school. The moment we cross the border the landscape changes, incredible! The roads are more winding and the landscape becomes more hilly. We like this much better than the flat landscape we have seen until now in Finland.

So we don't take the coastal way to Luleå, but go north just after the border, towards Tossa and after that road 356 to the west. Along the road there are socalled hunter chairs from where hunters can wait for prey at dusk or dawn and Teije wants to take a picture of Elisatbeth in such a chair.

But there is an obstacle: a ditch Elisabeth has to cross. So Teije thinks he can help her cross it by throwing in a big (10 kilo's at least!) stone in the middle of the ditch. Oh!... the mud flies around and Elisabeth is covered with it. Her trousers, which were wearing out anyway, stay behind on Swedish territory.

On this short trip we also see more lakes than we have seen in Finland the last few days and reindeer of course. This time a whole herd. It is funny to notice how the elder reindeer watch if the road is safe to cross for the smaller ones. Like (some) humans.

When we arrive at Luleå, the weather is still nice enough to sit outside and have a drink. After walking through the centre of the city Teije feels very satisfied he has seen the place and we can go back to Finland.

At 6 we leave Luleå, back to Tornio. Within a few hours we have caught two jet lags. In Sweden it is one hour earlier than in Finland but we loose this hour again returning to Finland. Time can be so confusing. But the sun doesn't set and it could have been in the afternoon when we return at Tornio.

Our Dutch neighbours have already arrived at the camping and they have stayed at Kalajoki last night; but they didn't have any sleep because of noise of all the drunk youths there. When we have heard their stories we are really glad we didn't stay at that place.

Travel through Europe and Africa

with Elisabeth and Teije